Black Friday 2018 NAS Sale

NAS Bargains this Black Friday 2018

If you have been looking for the right time to buy your first NAS this 2018, then you would be hard pushed to find a better time than Black Friday 2019. The event is going to last for the next 24 hours (continuing all the way through the weekend until Cyber Monday), so fast shopping is going to be important. Luckily for you, I have already taken a fast look at all the NAS deals, sales and bargains this Black Friday and below have broken down the best deals RIGHT NOW. Remember that all the savings and prices are only available as long as SPAN has the stock – so you better be FAST!

Synology NAS Deals on Black Friday

Synology NAS is still one of the most popular brands in network attached storage today. Because they release new units every year, you will definitely see deals from Synology NAS this Black Friday 2018 from SPAN. Keep an eye open for deals on the Synology DS918+ 4-Bay Plex NAS, the great value DS218+ 2-Bay and the always popular DS119j 1 Bay NAS. In previous years we have seen a lot of 2-Bay and 4-Bay Synology NAS reduced by as much as 15% in price compared with the latest models (which are near identical), and even more in the SPAN Clearance. These are the best Synology NAS Bargains this Black Friday. We have even seen newer units such as the MR2200ac Mesh Router and DS1019+ featured. Take a look:

Best Budget NAS

Best First NAS

Best NAS of 2018

Mesh Router

Best Plex NAS

QNAP NAS Deals on Black Friday

QNAP gives you so much for your money when you buy one of their NAS devices and for those looking for a multimedia server this Bacl Friday 2018, they are easily the hot tip for a bargain NAS. They release many new NAS devices every year and therefore you will see some great storage choices for both home and business from them on a Black Frday 2018. Look out for Bargains in the 2015 and 2016 NAS range, such as the TS-251B Multimedia NAS and TS-453BT3 Thunderbolt and 10GBe Photography NAS of 10% or more. Finally, you have a few of the newest releases entering the field with the TVS-872XT and TS-832X NAS.

Best Budget NAS

Best First NAS

Best NAS of 2018

Thunderbolt NAS

Best Plex NAS

WD NAS Deals this Black Friday

Because of the popularity of the affordable, simple and well designed My Book NAS range of devices from western digital, they are a popular NAS choice for students, small office environments and those that want simple yet effective backup solutions. Currently, SPAN lists the WD EX2 Ultra and WD My Cloud Home at the lowest price anywhere and thanks to exclusive discounts at SPAN, we fully anticipate these devices to be a pinch lower during Bacl Friday. Don’t agree? Take a look below:

Best Budget NAS

Best First NAS

Best NAS of 2018

Student NAS

Best Plex NAS

WD Red and Seagate Ironwolf Deals this Black Friday

What good is a NAS without reliable NAS hard drives media? Luckily, like every year, this Black Friday 2018 we will see insane offers on WD Red and Seagate ironwolf hard drives. These two hard drive brands are the most popular NAS media providers in the world and with SPAN selling hundreds of units every day, it would be insane not to see them feature heavily this Black Friday. Right now 4TB of storage is considered the standard for NAS and I’m pleased to say that both 4TB WD Red and 4TB Seagate ironwolf NAS drives are at a great price. Take a look below:

Best Price NAS Drive

Biggest NAS Drive

Safest NAS Drive

Enterprise NAS Drive

Cheapest NAS Drive

What is a NAS drive Best for?

It is important that the NAS you buy performs the tasks that you require in order to ensure that you buy with confidence. We at NASCompares have tested, reviewed, compared and rated thousands of different NAS use this experience to let users know what each NAS server is best suited for. Below are the most popular uses for NAS in 2018. Remember, the hardware in every NAS drive differs, and the full extent that each NAS can carry out each task depending on the hardware it features. If you are unsure, message me us directly for further free assistance.. Here is a breakdown of hte most popular buying factors when choosing the right NAS and what they mean:

Family Device Backups – Backup up multiple mobile and desktop devices, all to different folders

Choosing the Best Place to Buy a NAS

We all like a bargain and it is always so tempting to buy a precise NAS or indeed any NAS drive at the lowest possible price. But sometimes a price can be TOO LOW. The last thing you want to do is buy a used NAS, a Broken NAS or from a source that will take the money and run. Below are the key factors to consider when buying your first NAS

1. Is the NAS Drive in stock?

Just because the website has a picture and a price of NAS drive, doesn’t mean they definitely have it in stock. Be sure to check that the website you choose to buy from either has it listed as ‘in stock’ at their location OR supplies a lead-time that states when you will receive the unit. Always remember that a ‘lead time’ only applies to when you make the purchase! i.e. a 3-day lead-time means you will receive the unit in 3 working days of placing your, NOT that you can wait 3 days and then order for the next day.

2. What is the Condition of the NAS Drive?

Although in most cases, online retailers will ONLY sell NAS drive units that are new/sealed, it is worth remembering that there are still some retailers that are not as honest and will sell a unit that has been used, ex-display or has been repaired. Typically a retailer will be sure to mention somewhere in their T&C, on the Product Page or their Bio that they only sell new units. It is always worth checking this before making your purchase.

3. Checking Delivery Options of your NAS Drive

Thanks to the internet being such a global tool, worldwide shipping is widely available and ordering a NAS will not be limited to your regional borders. However always be aware that your country may impose a tax on imports and you should contact the NAS drive retailer in advance if this concerns you. Also, be sure to check on the website that the retailer will name the logistics company they will be using. We at NASCompares recommend DPD, TNT, UPS, FedEx and DHL as the most reliable worldwide delivery companies and all provide insurance, tracking and signature options, as well as time managed deliveries.

4. Should you Buy your NAS with Hard Drives Installed?

A popular option that is appearing from several retailers is the choice to buy your NAS with hard drives included. Many NAS retails do not provide their NAS drives with media included and ask that buyers supply their own. It can be very tempting to buy a NAS and Hard drives together, but always check if 1, Does the online retailer install the drives for you or just send you the NAS and Drives? 2, Do they provide a build and test service where your hard drives and NAS are tested prior to shipping? 3, Does the Online retailer cover build and test services in their terms and conditions with regard to warranty? These are important concerns and a good online retailer will answer positively to these questions. If they don’t, shop elsewhere!

5, Buy your NAS Drive from a Secure Payment Retail Provider

With eCommerce shops popping up daily, it is worth remembering that almost every single online retailer uses 3rd party payment providers to handle payments for every NAS drive sold. In real terms that means that the actual process of taking payment will be handled by another company, such as PayPal, WorldPay, SagePay, etc. This is a good thing in many cases as it means your payment will be protected by their own already well-covered terms and conditions. However, if you are considering a retailer that has their OWN payment system, use caution! Be sure to check their T&C regarding payments. 1, When is Payment is taken – now or when the goods are shipped? 2, Does their website feature an SSL certificate (the padlock in the search bar)? 3, Do they hold onto your payment details after the transaction? Be sure to fully check out your retailer’s payment options before you buy your NAS.

6, Faults and Returning your NAS Drive

Consumers in 2018/19 have a tremendous amount of power and now the majority of purchasing is done online, consumer rights have had to change to reflect this. Despite this, some retailers will still play choose to cut and run in the event of your NAS being faulty or even if you are just a private customer wanting to send it back because you do not need it. A good retailer is only as good as their returns and repair policy! All NAS drives arrive with between 2-5 years warranty and in most circumstances, you will be able to ship a faulty unit back to the retailer or arrange a replacement with the NAS brand you buy with, just using your serial number. Options such as the retailer collecting a faulty product vary (largely based on time passed since the original purchase) and turnarounds on a replacement unit arriving can vary, however, what really separates the good/bad retailers is how easy their return process is and how much they help you. If you have any concerns, we at NASCompares recommend you contact the retailer before making your purchase and asking their policy regarding RMAs (faulty goods) and their initial response should tell you everything you need to know.

7, After Sales Support and Advice for your NAS Drive

Unless you have previous experience in network attached storage, you are going to most likely have a few questions regarding the setup of your NAS drive. Most queries about the first time setup of your NAS drive can be addressed with the help and guides included on your device, or via a simple google search. But sometimes you will want to speak to a real human being for help, support and general advice. When deciding where to buy your NAS, it is worth spending a moment to consider what is included in that price tag aside from the physical unit. Usually, the cheapest retailer will have such a narrow margin of profit, that post-sales support is impossible in any real sense. Likewise, a specialist retailer in NAS such as SPAN.COM may seem a pinch higher, but this is too factor in extensive post-sales support, contact options and knowledge. Always be sure to factor your own skills/knowledge of network storage when choosing where to buy, as if you think you will lean heavily on the retailer for assistance during setup, then you should opt for a retailer with a reputation for this.

Is there Additional Warranty for the NAS to buy just in case disaster strikes?

Warranty is always a key concern for those investing in a new piece of technology. Almost all NAS, DAS and Thunderbolt storage brands will provide at least 2 years of manufacturer warranty with your purchase, with most SMB devices arriving with 3 years coverage and more enterprise devices arriving with at least 5 years. In some cases, in the event of a fault, you will need to send to send the malfunctioning device to the point of purchase, but it is often quicker to contact the brand website and it supports section directly, as you can often request that their arrange collection of your item.

What is Maximum Capacity Hard Drive Compatible with the NAS?

Maximum drive capacity that most modern NAS can handle is 14TB per bay (so, number of bays x 14TB = Maximum storage). The total available storage will depend on how many of the available bays you populate with hard drives – it is worth highlighting that almost all NAS can function with just a single Hard drive or SSD, but this will not provide you with any redundant drive protection in the event of media failure. When it comes to buying the right hard drive, we at NASCompares recommend the following three brands:

WD – With a varied range of drives that are colour coded to indicate use, most WD drives are around 5% more expensive than their competitors, but make up for this with a better warranty and being quieter drives overall.

Seagate – One of the longest running brands in Hard Drive media, Seagate drives provide the biggest capacity drives before anyone else and are

HGST is popular among IT professionals who need faster spinning disks with higher IOPS for faster data accessing rather than transfer speed.

Best External Drive to Backup the NAS?

A common mistake most first time NAS buyers make is assuming that the NAS drive will answer ALL of their backup needs. This is mostly true and thanks to systems like a RAID, a NAS is a remarkably robust storage device. However, all too often, users (and their family, friends and colleagues) will back up the contents of their phones, PCs, laptops, cameras, etc to a NAS – then DELETE the files from their device to make space. This is understandable BUT now the files you sent to your NAS are NOT a backup, they are the ONLY copy of those files! So, you have two alternatives to combat this situation. 1, Never delete files from your phone, PC, Laptop, etc. Or 2, Setup a backup system for your NAS. The NAS can be used to back up on a schedule/manually to a USB connected drive, to another NAS or to a 3rd party cloud (Amazon S3, ElephantDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc). You can choose to backup specific folders or an entire volume of data, depending on your needs/available space and only needs to be set up once. With external drives costing about £1 per 20GB and cloud servies around £9.99 per TB, you can get some great bargains. They are nowhere near as versatile/futureproof as a NAS, but serve as excellent backup and disaster recovery options.

NAS | Can I back it up to the cloud?

For backing up your NAS do consider BlackBlaze. You can try it for 15 days free if you don’t believe its good. But the main reason is unlimited backup size. Everyone else like Dropbox, Amazon, and others charge per gigabyte. But with this one there is no price difference either you backup 2 bay or 8 bay NAS. The other great feature is version control. So even if you get hit by ransomware type of virus or simply deleted or mistakenly changed few files. You can restore your data from historical backup versions and get all data back.

NAS | Can I do a full system backup of my mobiles, tablets and PC?

Acronis TrueImage is a backup software which will let you backup Computers, Android Phones or Apple iPhones to your NAS. It is an incredible app because not only it can backup few folders, but also an entire image of your computer. This is super important if you need to get your computer restored ASAP after a massive system crash, virus or other disasters (Manual to set up NAS as backup destination). Backing up a mobile device means capturing all of the data – including contacts, calendar, photos, videos and other files – so you still have them if something happens to your smartphone or tablet.
Backup software for mobile devices makes sure you are saving copies frequently, reliably and safely. It automatically produces a backup and makes it easy to restore your files.